Collapsible anchor



May 10, 1955 A. L. KEMP ETAL COLLAPSIBLE ANCHOR Filed Aug. 5, 1952 INVENTOR ALTON L. KEMP ARTHUR L KANE ATTORNEY kid COLLAPSIBLE ANCHOR Alton L. Kemp and Arthur L. Kane, Youngstown, Ohio Application August 5, 1952, Serial No. 302,666 7 Claims. (Cl. 114-208) The present invention relates to anchors of the type used in connection with small fishing and pleasure boats and the like, and has particular reference to anchors of this general class which are foldable or collapsible for the purpose of facilitating the storage of the anchor and/or for facilitating the disengagement of the anchor from the bottom of a lake or stream, for example.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a collapsible anchor assembly which is characterized by the ultimate simplicity of its manufacture and of its operation. I

In this connection it is a more specific object of the invention to provide a collapsible anchor assembly which comprises a plurality of flukes or grappling members mounted on a central body member and adapted for an overcenter type movement between operative and inoperative or collapsed positions in relation to said body member. Collapsible anchors are, of course, old in general principle, but to our knowledge all such anchor assemblies as heretofore constructed have relied on various types of stops and locking devices to maintain the anchor fiukes in operative or grappling position. Thus, to release the fiukes to, for example, disengage the anchor from rocks or roots lying on a lake bottom it has been first necessary to disengage or render ineilective the locking device, and this is accompanied by more or less difiiculty depending upon the particulardesign of the device. With our arrangement, however, it is merely necessary to apply an increased force to the anchor rope or chain, whereupon one or more of the flukes is caused to snap with an overcentering action into an inoperative position wherein the anchor may be readily drawn upwardly into the boat.

We acknowledge that there are included in the prior art collapsible anchor devices certain arrangements wherein the means utilized for locking the flukes in grappling position may be rendered ineffective by merely applying an increased force to the anchor rope, but as will be readily apparent to those familiar with this art these arrangements are quite complicated, and diflicult and expensive to manufacture. tains the desirable features of this general type of collapsible anchor while materially simplifying the mechanism required and the expense of manufacture.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an anchor assembly adapted to be collapsed for disengagement with a lake bottom and for facilitating storage wherein when the flukes of the anchor are collapsed in the same manner for either of the above named purposes. Thus it will be readily understood that to disengage an anchor from a lake bottom it is necessary that the flukes collapse downwardly or away from the shank of the anchor. On the other hand, when folding the anchor for storage it is desirable that the flukes be folded along the shank so that the folded assembly is as compact as possible. In accordance with our teachings the dukes of the anchor assembly collapse in one direction only, i. e., in the proper direction for disengagement of the anchor from Our invention, on the other hand, re-

a lake bottom, and to prepare the assembly for storage we provide that the shank may be moved longitudinally with respect to the fiultes so that the assembly may be arranged in a most compact manner.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an anchor assembly of the type and having the characteristics set forth above wherein the component parts of the assembly may be inexpensively fabricated from stock hardware parts and elementary metal stampings, and wherein the complete assembly is light in weight and easily handled while having ample holding of grappling ability by virtue of its general configuration.

Other objects and advantages of the invention reside in certain improvements and simplifications in the construction of the anchor device and these as well as the objects and advantages set forth above will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed specification and accompanying drawing wherein is disclosed a preferred embodiment of our invention.

in the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of an anchor device constructed in accordance with the principles of our invention the device being illustrated in extended or grappling relation;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 1 illustrating the same in a partially folded or collapsed condition; and

Figure 4 is an elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 1 illustrating the same in a completely folded condition as may be desired for storage of the apparatus.

Referring now to the drawing, and initially to Figures 1 and 2 thereof, the numeral it designates the principal anchor body member of our apparatus which comprises a generally triangular section of sheet metal the apices of which are bent upwardly and inwardly whereby to define a body member of pyramid-like shape. in accordance with the preferred construction the horizontal bottom wall of the body member it is centrally apertured, and the converging apices are rigidly interconnected by a conventional Washer 11 or equivalent member the aperture of which is aligned vertically with the aperture in the bottom wall of the body member. The washer ll is preferably welded to the body member in.

Pivotally secured to the body member ll) along the bottom wall thereof is a plurality of flakes or grappling members 12 which are conventionally arranged in radially divergent relation when in operative or grappling position as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and which are adapted to be pivoted into vertical position in the manner illustrated in Figure .1. In accordance with the teachings of the invention the flukes 12 may be stamped or otherwise cut from flat sheet metal and then appropriately bent so as toprovide a pointed outer gripping portion 13 and spaced parallel inner end portions 14 by means of which the flukes are pivotally secured to the body member 10.

For the purpose of connecting the fiukes 12 to the body member ill we weld or otherwise connect transversely disposed pins 15 between the spaced inner end portions 14 of the fiukes 12, and these pins are arranged to be engaged by downwardly depending U-shaped members 16 which are welded to the bottom wall of the body member 10. In accordance with the teachings of the invention the flukes 12 are radiused about the pins 15 whereby when the lower sides of the pins 15 are engaged by the U-shaped members 16 the radiused ends of the fiukes will engage the bottom wall of the body member 1a. This construction provides an effective yet greatly simplified arrangement for pivotally mounting the flukes 12 as will be readily understood.

Usually it is desirable to recess the upper edges of the inner portions 14 of the flukes as illustrated at 17 so that the fiukes may be pivoted into an operative upper limit position as illustrated in Figure 1 wherein the fiukes are angled upwardly from the horizontal.

To retain the flukes 12 in operative or grappling position when the same are moved into such relation we have secured eyelets 18 to the inner portions 14 of the flukes, and it is in accordance with the teachings of the invention that the eyelets 18 be located outwardly of the pins 15 and above the same when the flakes are positioned in extended or grappling relation. The eyelets 13 extend from each side of each of the flukes 12 whereby cooperating pairs of eyelets of two adjacent flukes may be engaged by extensible coil springs 19 in the manner illustrated in Figure 2. As will be observed, the springs 19 are so arranged that the same are in a retracted or inert condition when the flakes 12 are folded downwardly as in Figure 3, but upon the flukes being pivoted upwardly into grappling position the springs become substantially extended, thereby tending to draw the fiukes together. However, since the eyelets 13 are located above the pivotal axes of the flukes 12 the same tend to pivot upwardly rather than downwardly to their normal folded position. it will thus be understood that the springs 19 act to firrnly retain the flukes 12 in their operative positions when the same are so related by a user of the apparatus, but that the apparatus may be readily conditioned for storage by merely overcoming the force of the springs and folding the flukes 12 downwardly. The force required to overcome the springs 19 should, however, be sufficient to assure that the fiukes will not be caused to collapse during normal operation of the anchor.

in accordance with usual anchor construction an elongated shank 20 is arranged to extend upwardly from the fiukes 12 and to be engaged at its upper end by a suitable anchor rope or chain, not shown. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the shank 20 may comprise an elongated eye-bolt, or, preferably, a length of pipe or conduit having an eye portion 21 welded or otherwise secured to the upper end portion. The lower end portion of the shank 20 is threaded for engagement with a pipe cap 22 or other suitable device which is adapted to engage the lower wall of the washer 11 as illustrated in Figure l. in the present embodiment of the invention the shank 20 is arranged to slide freely in the apertured washer 11, and the aperture in the bottom wall of the body member is sufficiently large to receive the end cap 22. The arrangement is such that the shank 20 may be moved from an extended position wherein the cap 22 engages the bottom side of the washer 11 to a retracted position wherein the eye portion 21 engages the top side of the washer. This feature is thought to be particularly desirable since, as illustrated in Figure 4, when the fiukes 12 are positioned in folded relation the shank 20 may be moved to a retracted position and the thus collapsed anchor assembly occupies a practical minimum of space.

An important feature of our invention resides in the particular location of the eyelets 18 whereby, as illustrated in Figure 3, one of the flukes 12 may be positioned in a downwardly depending or folded relation to the anchor assembly proper while at the same time the remaining two flukes will be maintained in an operative position by a single one of the three springs 19. This is accomplished by so arranging the springs 19 and eyelets 13 that the downward force applied by the two springs connecting the downwardly folded fluke with the extended fiukes is less than the upward force applied by the single spring which connects the two extended flukes. it will be noted in this respect that the spring 19 visible in Figure 3 acts along a plane passing through or close to the pin 15 about which the visible extended fluke pivots whereby the force applied by the last mentioned spring exerts a small or negligible turning moment upon the extended fluke. This arrangement is particularly advantageous in that a user of the anchor apparatus may condition a folded assembly for use by grasping a fluke 12 in each hand and moving the same into operative relation, and thereafter moving the third folded fluke into operative relation without regard for the first two flukes. The procedure is reversed for folding the apparatus and the first step is to fold a single fluke while the second step involves grasping the two remaining flukes, one in each hand, and forcing them into a downwardly depending folded position.

Our anchor assembly is further advantageous in that it may be easily and inexpensively manufactured from sheet metal and stock hardware parts, and when assembled is light in weight and therefore readily handled. This is in notable contrast to anchor assemblies heretofore provided for this purpose.

When in operation our anchor derives its holding power principally from its ability to engage objects at the bottom of a lake or stream rather than from its weight. If, however, the anchor becomes so engaged that it may not be drawn upwardly while in its normal operative condition the user merely exerts an extra drawing force to the anchor rope or chain to cause one or more of the flukes 12 to collapse into a downwardly depending relation. The anchor may thereupon be withdrawn with comparative ease.

It is also to be noted that when the fiukes 12 are in a folded condition the shank 20 may be moved longitudinally into a retracted position wherein the same is contained substantially within the outline of the folded fiukes. Thus it is unnecessary to provide for folding the flukes in a first direction for disengaging the anchor from a lake bottom and in a second direction for conditioning the assembly for storage. Our arrangement provides for both functions in a most simple and expedient manner as will be readily apparent.

It will be understood, however, that the herein specifically described apparatus is representative only of our invention and reference should therefore be had to the appended claims in determining the true scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a collapsible anchor assembly the combination of a body member having a principal axis and a bottom wall disposed transversely to said axis, a plurality of divergently arranged fiukes positioned below said bottom wall and pivotally secured thereto and adapted to be pivoted between positions generally transverse of said axis and positions generally parallel to said axis, said flukes being adapted when in said transverse position to engage said bottom wall whereby to limit upward movement of said flukes toward said wall, a plurality of extensible springs each connecting two adjacent flukes, said springs connecting said flukes at points offset outwardly from the pivotal axes of said flukes, said points being above said axes when said fiukes are in said parallel position, and a shank carried by said body member and adapted to extend outwardly thereof along said axis.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 further characterized by said shank being longitudinally slidable in said body member between normal and retracted positions, and said shank when in said retracted position being substantially confined within the peripheral limits of said flakes when the latter are positioned generally parallel to said axis.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 further characterized by said flakes being pivotally connected to said body member by a plurality of U-shaped members secured to and depending from said bottom wall, and pins disposed transversely in said flultes and engaging said U- shaped members for rotatable movement with respect thereto, said fiultes being provided with radiused end portions about said pins, said end portions engaging said bottom wall.

4. In a collapsible anchor assembly the combination of a body member having a principal axis, a plurality of divergently arranged fiukes pivotally secured to said body member and adapted to be pivoted between upper positions generally transverse of said axis and lower positions generally parallel to said axis, a plurality of extensible springs each connecting two adjacent flukes, said springs being connected to said flukes at points offset from the pivotal axes thereof whereby upon said fiukes being positioned in said generally transverse position said springs resist downward movement of said fiukes toward said generally parallel position, means operative when said flukes are in said upper position to prevent further upward pivotal movement, and shank means connected to said body member.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 further characterized by said shank means being carried by said body member and extending along said axis, said shank means being adapted for longitudinal sliding movement with respect to said body member whereby upon said flukes being positioned generally parallel to said axis said shank means inay be moved longitudinally so as to be substantially confined within the peripheral limits of said flukes.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4 further characterized in that said body member is provided with a bottom wall disposed transversely to said axis, said flukes each having an inner end portion comprising spaced parallel sheet metal sections disposed transversely to said bottom wall, pins extending between said spaced metal sections, U-shaped members secured at their open ends to said bottom wall and depending therefrom, said U-shaped members each being positioned between the spaced end sections of a fluke and engaging a pin, said sections being radiused about said pins whereby in all operative pivotal positions of said fiukes said sections engage said bottom wall.

7. Apparatus according to claim 4 further characterized in that said anchor assembly comprises three flukes arranged symmetrically about said axis, and said springs being so connected to said flukes that upon one of three transversely disposed flukes being pivoted to a generally parallel position movement of the remaining two fiukes into said generally parallel position is resisted by at least one of said springs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,295,076 Sherman et al Feb. 18, 1919 1,373,067 Goodreau Mar. 29, 1921 1,459,768 Jackson June 26, 1923 1,544,121 Allen June 30, 1925 1,782,449 Siebert Nov. 25, 1930 2,306,454 Marshaus Dec. 29, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 39,185 Norway June 23, 1924 

